Rising Star 2 Play-by-Play

Top MMA News was ringside for Rising Star 2 at The Metropolis in Montreal. The venue has a classy 1920’s theater allure and provided a contrasting touch of aesthetic class to the violence that was going to ensue. This is the second show put on by Rising Star whose raison-d’être is to uncover future Canadian stars, and to breed them for further big Canadian MMA shows such as Ringside. As it turned out, these rookies put on a great night of fights. Here is how they went:

Fight 1 (155lbs): Michael Imperato vs. Pierre Mellon
Round 1: Imperato comes out charging and pushes his opponent into the fence looking for the takedown. Imperato manages to get Mellon on the ground but Mellon bounces back to his feet. The Torontonian is unable to bring his opponent down a second time so he decides to pull guard and attack his opponent’s ankle right away. Mellon tries to defend but has nowhere to go and is forced to submit.Michael Imperato wins via submission (heel hook) at 1:09 of round 1.

Fight 2 (Heavyweight): Steve Bégin vs. Jeff Breau
Round 1: The fight starts and Breau is stalking Bégin around the ring in a circular motion. Bégin attempts to dash into his opponent with strikes but eats jabs and/or crosses/hooks with each attempt. Bégin maintains his strategy and lands a right hook that does not seem to phase his larger opponent. Breau catches Bégin with a thai plumb as his opponent moves in and delivers some knees and punches. The round ends with Breau throwing a left hand and right head kick combination to Bégin’s head that he successfully blocks.Top MMA News scores the round 10-9 for Breau.

Round 2: Bégin throws a few kicks to the head and body of Breau that are mostly blocked. Breau pushes his opponent into the fence, gets the thai clinch and lands some knees. Breau is peppering Bégin with strikes in the early part of this round as Breau is displaying some quality counter striking. One right hook has Bégin stumbling but he stays in the game. Bégin’s face is marred and bloody from the unanswered punishment he is subjected to. Despite this, he manages to take Breau down and lands in half guard midway through the round. Short punches land for Bégin but the thudding elbows that follow resonate throughout the Metropolis. Breau is content with delivering some good ground and pound from half guard as he makes no attempts to pass guard. The round ends strong for Bégin.Top MMA News sees this as a toss up round, but since takedowns count a lot in MMA these days, we decided to score it 10-9 for Bégin.

Round 3: The start of the third round is delayed as Bégin is looked at by a doctor who ends up giving him a pass. The fighters square off and Bégin throws a right head kick which is subsequently blocked by his rival. Bégin attempts a double leg takedown, which is promptly defended by Breau and switches for a single which is also stuffed. Breau lands a right hook as the fighters break. Breau lands more jabs and hooks as begin tries to close the gap. Finally, Bégin attempts a second single leg but it’s once again defended. Both fighters are breathing heavy and the punches are losing their pop. The round ends and Bégin’s face is a bloody mess.Top MMA News scores the third round 10-9 for BreauThe official decision has all three judges scoring the fight in favour of Jeff Breau.

Fight 3 (135lbs): Gregory Carpenter vs. Maxime Dubois
Round 1: The fighters take the center of the cage and Dubois throws an attempted inside leg kick that lands in the family jewels. Carpenter folds and had 5 minutes to recuperate. The fight resumes after a few minutes. Dubois propels himself fiercely towards his foe with a barrage of punches against the fence. One of the shots has Carpenter crumbling to the canvas and he turtles to defend himself. Dubois hits his opponent with a few more punches before the ref intervenes for the TKO stoppage.Maxime Dubois wins via TKO at 0:59 of round 1

Fight 4 (145lbs): Sajid Rizvi vs. Erik Dumaine
Round 1: Rizvi absorbs a leg kick but rushes in on Dumaine and pushes him up against the fence. Rizvi locks his opponent up and takes him down with an inside leg trip. What happens next is not for the faint of heart. Dumaine yelps in intense pain to signal that something is wrong. Rizvi pulls himself off to uncover the damage. Dumaine’s arm was caught underneath him when he fell which resulted into a sickening dislocation at the elbow. The grotesque deformation is similar to Renzo’s injury at the hands of Sakuraba. The crowd is silent and Dumaine is attended to by the paramedics. Dumaine’s arm is repositioned to its original state and he is taken to a nearby hospital for a clearer assessment.Sajid Rizvi via TKO due to injury in round 1

Fight 5 (145lbs) Mustafa Khalil vs. Tommy Côté
Round 1: Both fighters exchange with some kickboxing combinations but nothing significant lands. Both fighters clinch and scramble resulting in Khalil taking Côté’s back while standing. Côté latches onto one of the arms around his waist for a kimura but Khalil defends. Côté lets himself fall near the cage and now it is Khalil who is going for a kimura from top position with Côté’s back against the cage. Côté straightens his arm and Khalil goes for the straight armbar which he cannot secure. Mustafa opts to stand in his opponent’s guard to throw some punches and is threatened by some upkicks that almost land. The round comes to a halt.Top MMA News scores the round 10-9 for Khalil

Round 2: Big overhand right misses for Khalil. He presses Côté into the cage where both fighters are fighting for the thai plumb and exchange knees. The fighters disengage and Côté lands a few leg kicks. Fighters are on the outside pocket exchanging punches with Côté appearing to get the upper hand. Khalil throws a cross that lands on Côtés jaw which has a spit flying out but Côté is unphased. The fighters continue to exchange from the outside pocket but both are clearly losing steam.Top MMA News scores the round 10-9 for Côté

Round 3: Côté attempts a hip toss but it is reversed by Mustafa. The fighters land in Côté’s guard but Khalil is looking to pass. Khalil gets half guard for a split second but takes Côté’s back as Côté was trying to get up. Khalil has the body triangle locked in and is going for chokes. Côté is defending well as this is going on for most of the round. Finally, Côté manages to spin into Khalil and both are now in the Ronin MMA prospects’s guard. Khalil presses his back against the cage and stands up. He attempts a guillotine choke and lets himself fall but it is soundly defended. Round ends.Top MMA News scores this round 10-9 for Khalil.The official decision has all three judges scoring a Unanimous Decision victory for Mustafa Khalil.

Fight 6 (155lbs): David Lafond vs. Samuel Charbonneau
Round 1: Both fighters are looking antsy and ready to get at it. They come out charging and Charbonneau looks like a wild man throwing everything he has. When the first whirlwind is over, Charbonneau strategically attacks Lafond’s legs with outside leg kicks. Lafond stays on the outside despite being peppered by the kicks and lands a crisp right uppercut and some straight punches to Charbonneau’s melon. Charbonneau continues to viciously chop away at the legs. One leg kick has Lafond fall on the canvas and Charbonneau enters Lafond’s guard. Lafond’s left thigh is red and purple and it’s only the first round. Lafond throws his hips up for a credible triangle attempt. Charbonneau postures to defend and punishes Lafond with some hammerfists as the round ends. This is a promising contender for fight of the night.Top MMA News scores the round 10-9 for Charbonneau

Round 2: Both meet at center stage and exchange a seemingly equal amount of punches. Charbonneau goes back to his bread and butter leg kicks. Lafond manages to land a right uppercut and a straight that has Samuel backing up. Fight once again goes to the ground inside Lafond’s guard. Lafond is once again throwing his hips for a triangle but Charbonneau defends by posturing. Much like the first round, the round ends with Charbonneau cracking Lafond with some powerful hammerfists that resonate throughout the venue. The fans are at their loudest to show their appreciation for both warriors.Top MMA News scores the round 10-9 for Lafond despite it being a very close round.

Round 3: Charbonneau takes Lafond down and ends up in his rival’s half guard. Samuel is trying to pass guard but Lafond prevents this from happening and regains guard. Charbonneau stands up and Lafond attempts the lumberjack sweep that has Charbonneau falling but they end up in Lafond’s guard again after a quick scramble. Lafond attempts a third and final triangle. Charbonneau could not defend this one in time and it is getting tighter and tighter. Lafond’s cornermen are pleading for him to pull on the shin. Lafond responds and secures a proper triangle forcing Charbonneau to tap. It was a dramatic end to an exciting fight. One of the best fights I have had the honor to see live.David Lafond wins via submission (triangle choke) at 3:00 of round 3

Fight 7 (135lbs): Stephane Pelletier vs. Mikael Pellerin
I finally understood why half of the crowd were wearing red shirts. As it turns out, Stephane Pelletier brought a busload of his fans, friends and family members to Montreal from Val D’or to see this fight.

Round 1: Pellerin absorbs a leg kick but counters with a spinning back fist that was soundly blocked by Pelletier. Pelletier timed the spinning backfist attempt to press his opponent into the cage and take him down. Pellerin manages to reverse the Juvado fighter and they end up in Pelletier’s guard. The crowd favorite wastes no time in displaying his slick submission game as he turns for an armbar. He seems to surprise Pellerin with it. Pelletier extends his body to extend the arm. Pellerin falls to his back but Pelletier is holding on even though his opponent is locking his hands to keep the arm from being extended. The finishing touch is academic as Pelletier secures the armbar with a slight adjustment to his grip forcing Pellerin to tap.Stephane Pelletier wins via submission (armbar) at 1:47 of round 1

Fight 8 (155lbs) Steve Simms vs. Yohann Gariepy
Round 1: Simms shoots in for a single but misses. He manages to take Gariepy’s back while standing and drags him down onto the canvas. Gariepy manages to get back onto his feet but Simms picks him up and slams him. Simms is working his passing game by getting into half guard and then into side control. Gariepy tries to escape but it’s an opportunity for Simms to take his back. Simms appears to be too much of a grappling guru for Gariepy as he effortlessly sinks the rear naked choke.Steve Simms wins via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:24 of round 1